Hate groups, more domestic than you think

In an interview, Natalie Ringsmuth, a local activist for Unite Cloud, shared some information about local hate groups.  Read the full interview here.  Unfortunately, there is a sizeable number of local hate groups located right here in central Minnesota.

When asked about hate groups in Minnesota, Natalie responded, “The Southern Poverty Law Center actually keeps track of how many hate groups exist around the nation. In Minnesota, there are about 5-7 (there are actually 10) recognized and organized hate groups, one of them being in Central Minnesota. I believe it is a white supremacy group. We believe people in this group travel to St. Cloud, and are the folks who usually have pickup trucks with the Confederate flag waving in the back and have been known to travel around heavily populated east African areas and yell the ‘N-word’ or ‘Get out of our country, this is our country’ late at night. Also, lately there have been incidences of posters being put up at St. Cloud State saying things as ‘being white is ok’ or ‘refugees not welcome.'”

The pictures below have been seen around the SCSU area within the last few months.

Natalie also shared about another group she was aware of:  “There is a group that maybe the Southern Poverty Law Center would consider a hate group, but are really doing undermining work here in Central Minnesota. One of the groups is called ‘Peace in St. Cloud’ and are apart of the groups who bring in anti-Islamic speakers. I have met with a lot of these speakers and they all say the same thing, ‘at some time all Muslims are going to wake-up and behead all of your children and grandchildren.’”

The ten groups that are in Minnesota are the Sons of Liberty Media (formerly known as You Can Run But You Cannot Hide) in Annandale, MN and are categorized as General Hate; Remnant The/The Remnant Press in Forest Lake, MN, categorized as Radical Traditional Catholicism; Behold Barbary Records and Distro in Plymouth, MN, categorized as Hate Music; Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ in Minneapolis, MN, categorized as Black Separatist; Militant Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Minneapolis, MN, categorized as Ku Klux Klan; ACT for America in Minneapolis, MN, categorized as Anti-Muslim; Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge in Minneapolis, MN, categorized as Black Seperatist; Vinlanders Social Club which is Minnesota statewide, categorized as Racist Skinhead Vinlanders Social Club; Gallows Tree Wotansvolk Alliance which is Minnesota statewide, categorized as Neo-Nazi; and Weisman Publications in Apple Valley, MN, categorized as Christain Identity.

The information below is from an article titled The Geography of Hate in the U.S.

Hate groups like the ones listed on the SPLC website are more prevalent in urban Minnesota, such as Minneapolis and Saint Paul. According to The Southern Poverty Law Center, urbanization and hate groups is one of the strongest correlations. Urbanization, as well as the 2016 election year, added fuel to the hate group fire. Just 10 days after Donald Trump’s election, 900 hate-related incidences occurred and were reported to The Southern Poverty Law Center. According to researcher Charlotta Mellander, a professor of Economics, hate groups were positively associated with those in favor of Donald Trump and negatively associated with those in favor of Hillary Clinton. However, hate groups are not directly associated with hate crimes. It’s thoughts that divide Americans by class, ideology, and politics.

Link to my personal story about an interaction with a hate group.